Tom Hiddleston better watch his ass. Benedict Cumberbatch is going to out-Shakespeare poor Hiddleston and it won’t even be a fair fight. Pretty soon, the Cumberbitches are going to claim that Cumby was always The First One to love Shakespeare and that Tommy is just copying his big brother, collecting Cumby crumbs from the Bard. In case you couldn’t guess, Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to play the most famous Shakespearean character of all time: Hamlet! Poor Hiddles is probably weeping right now.

To be quite honest, I think Hiddleston would probably make a better Hamlet. Hamlet is an indecisive loser who spends the entire play trying to figure out if he should avenge his dead father. His dead father’s ghost comes to him and demands vengeance and still Hamlet dithers around for four more acts. That has Hiddleston written all over it. I had a professor once who said “If Macbeth had been in Hamlet’s position, it would have been a one-act play.” Still, Hamlet is considered the holy grail for actors, so I guess this is good news:

Benedict Cumberbatch is going from Sherlock to Shakespeare. The award-winning actor will play Hamlet, the troubled Danish prince, on the London stage in the autumn of 2014.

Cumberbatch joins the pantheon of modern Hamlets who have included Ben Whishaw, Jude Law, Simon Russell Beale, Mark Rylance, David Tennant and John Simm. Questioned several years ago on what stage role he yearned to play, Cumberbatch instantly responded: ‘Hamlet, obviously.’

The actor was sipping a Grey Goose cocktail at a party held in Toronto’s Soho House following the world premiere of The Fifth Estate at the Toronto International Film Festival when he let slip to me that he was actively pursuing a return to the theatre, following his role-swapping stint at the National in Danny Boyle’s production of Frankenstein back in 2011.

He wouldn’t tell me more, but after a process of elimination I hit upon Hamlet and the rumour led me, eventually, to the indefatigable producer Sonia Friedman, who confirmed that she was in ‘active discussions’ with Cumberbatch and celebrated director Lyndsey Turner.

Ms Turner directed Posh at the Royal Court and the current Almeida Theatre smash Chimerica, now playing to packed houses at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Pressed further, Ms Friedman added: ‘We’re in advanced discussions with Benedict Cumberbatch about playing Hamlet, and we’re at the stage of sorting out schedules concerning him and the director Lyndsey Turner. Key to those talks is West End theatre availability, or availability of a non-traditional theatre space to present the play.’

Cumberbatch is a hot property right now, and with good reason. His ability to deliver astute, decisive performances — demonstrated in the masterpiece that is Twelve Years A Slave, which I caught at the Telluride Film Festival; and in August: Osage County and The Fifth Estate, which I saw in Toronto — may bring him awards season attention.

Cumberbatch recently completed the third series of Sherlock, which BBC1 will broadcast next year. And he has just started filming The Imitation Game, in which he portrays tortured World War II computer genius Alan Turing, opposite Keira Knightley (so delightful in new movie Can A Song Save Your Life?).

To be, or not to be Hamlet? There seems no question that in a year’s time Cumberbatch will be uttering the sweet prince’s famous lines on a stage somewhere in London.

Well, good for him. He’s probably realizing a life-long acting goal and that’s always nice to see. I’m disappointed that he’ll be away from the cameras for so long – surely “Autumn 2014” would be a great time to film Season 4 of Sherlock, right? RIGHT? But I’m happy for him. *weeps along with Hiddleston*

Seriously, though, Cumby’s goal should have been playing Iago in Othello. Benedict would have been an AMAZING Iago. And with his naturally auburn hair, he would have made a fascinating Macbeth too. I would love to see him in The Taming of the Shrew as well!

I had a new idea for a CB jukebox musical. Based on the music of the Velvet Underground. Cumby for Lou Reed. And perhaps the Tomster could go Candelabra-style as Nico. He might finally get a nomination or two.

“…but, actually, they were very nice, and Mr. Cumberbatch decided not the press charges, so long as we promised not to not chant “take it off! take it ALL OFF!” during the ending… very classy man, by the way- just a class act. He even returned Ms. Fanty’s knickers.”

Yes. I never read thrillers. I never read romantic historical fiction. Except these. They’re feasts for poetry and Renaissance geeks and truly intelligent. I would love to have known Dorothy Dunnett. The Russian one is my favourite.

And honestly: PuddleTom was made to play Francis Crawford. 90% of his dialogue is quotation.

Good timing. I am heading to the bookstore this morning, at the behest of EscCon, to buy my first ever Edward Gorey book. Because I live under the illusion that I have time to read for pleasure, I’ll see if they have The Game of Kings.

Cumby won’t settle for less than the National, I’m sure. And even if he goes direct to West End, NTLive has facilitated the screening of Branagh’s Macbeth, which I believe was produced by the Manchester Exchange. They’ll make it happen.

I was thinking this, too. I think it’s great that he’s getting work. And in a career like acting, where you are basically a freelancer, work begets more work (and if you start turning down too many roles, people might start forgetting about you).

But sheesh, he has a full plate, especially when you consider the Star Wars rumors just won’t stop.

“The actor was sipping a Pervy Tombanger cocktail at a party held in London’s National Theatre following the premiere of “Hamlet” when he let slip to me that he was actively pursuing the two ladies who giggled and flashed their boobs while he was delivering the famous monologue.”

Maybe we could get a box and let Tommy sit in the middle, while we all hold his hand and tell him he’s pretty, so that he can make it through the performance without completely dissolving? We’ll probably need to whisper sweet nothings into his ears, too “Darling, you’d be a much better Hamlet, everyone knows it”

Drat! I missed this earlier! Computer freezing again. Curls, you may have sussed out that I’m a sweets-slut. & not just any old sweets, but things like black forest gateau, & the cerise brandy which is making my mouth water. Yes, of course to the apple strudel!

You could leave me in a dungeon with a milk chocolate bunny rabbit for a year & the bunny will still be intact when you come back to let me out. Yes, even the ears.

But tiramisu? I’ll just mention now that it would be unfair to mention tiramisu, even in jest. Fanty knows that I would leap off her Vespa in mid-gallop for Tiramisu.

Fanty, this may be a good time to rope one of those yummy apple pies you’re baking to the Vespa.

@EscCon: I envy you for your good taste sweetswise. Put me in a dungeon with your chocolate bunny rabbit and I will eat it, lick the wrapping and probably eat it as well. Sigh.

You will like my strudel. I hate to overuse the immortal words of our Hamlet-to-be, but: it’s the real. My mother-in-law hails from the heart of the heart of strudel country and gave me the recipe. After years of trial and error (and far too many hours spent in the kitchen) my strudel is near to perfect.

Come over to Curls Cottage with Fanty, I’m dying to see your infamous Vespa. We can have coffee and strudel and engage in discussing Shakespeare.

Erm, Mr. Cumberbatch, if you are following this thread (I wouldn’t be surprised): I know that you have a sweet tic tac tooth. You can drop by whenever you like, just drop me a line. I promise you: I’ll drive the sluts off my premises in no time.

Oh, there can’t possibly be delicious apfelstrudel left anymore (and I’m unfortunately not well versed in Shakespeare) so Curlsunited, your friendly invitation went past me. But I see you’re an admirably skillful pastry cook. I’m not that good, although I can make one course. I happen to be the grand master at making Banoffee Pies…(It’s a pity I don’t know anyone who especially loves those. But if there is someone, preferably a male one with auburn hair, please just contact me for a private tasting!)

Damn it! How are we supposed to get Cumby to discuss his plans for Hamlet when there’s a Banoffee pie about?

That is so devious of you, Vesta. Curls has knocked herself out on this massive apple strudel, & Fanty washed & waxed the Vespa herself because the hedgehogs get their little spikes stuck in the wax & are no help at all.

All right then, have it your own way. I shall take off my wimple & let my wavy auburn strands drop daintily into that banofee pie. Ick.

@EscCon – Is it you, Brother Benedict? I’ve been listening your excited vespers around here for quite some time now, and somehow I had this premonition that it isn’t the most conventional convent you escaped from. I knew I was forced to use some really dirty tricks in order to reveal your disguise. Sticky pies, they always do the job…

@CurlU – Yes, it’s the Harper’s Bazaar one. With that swoonable coat. But I didn’t remember that “delightul” USP thing; thanks for bringing me back to reality, ha.

All right, you caught me. Curls, my dear, dipping Cumby in all-over milk chocolate would probably slow me down a little. In this case, I would probably have to start with his ears, so he could no longer be mistaken for that chocolate bunny.

& Vesta, you’re scaring me a little! What gave me away?! I hope no one else has your powers of deduction. It’s true we are a strange little Convent. I am apprenticed to Brother Cadfael, & when I am not chained to my mortar & pestle (herbs, twigs, berries), I am usually herding the hedgehogs at Thornfield. My escaping is a bit on & off. Usually Fanty zips by on the Vespa to break me out of there. But then I get sentimental about my little cell & the Sisters’ rollicking games of Pin The Tail On Mother Superior, & I yearn to go back. The lifestyle is dizzying.

@EsCon – Yeah, your lifestyle must be dizzying, since it was the faint smell of Benedictine liqueur that revealed you. Now I know it’s you who sits by a mortar & pestle and prepares the spices for that famous drink. And takes test swigs with a drinking horn made of an unicorn. Oh, I just thank god Curls was here to warn me about your Hamlet-discussing methods with Cumby.

What Curls said. To get more posts on your favourite people, comment on posts them often and try to make your comments funny and/or entertaining. This will attract other people who also like whoever it is. And it will also be fun.

I stumbled across this site by accident but I stayed because the various Celebitches who like the actors I like were not only thoughtful but funny and entertaining – T.Fanty, Miss Eyre, Miss Jupitero, Anna, EsCon, PromisedBeer, Eve, etc etc etc.

If you try to stop posts other people find enjoyable, it won’t make the site as a whole better; it’ll make it worse.

I’m not swooning about the idea of Cumby as Hamlet – the idea popped up on another thread and the consensus seemed to be that this idea wasn’t exciting, for a variety of reasons, but Cumby is about the right age to play the role. I know Hamlet is the “young prince of Denmark” but 36/37 is agreed as the right age to play the part, even thought Hamlet would be about 30. HOWEVER, in an early version of the play Hamlet was presented as being about 16, but the play was revised a bunch of times, giving us 30 year old Hamlet. *This post was sponsored by Tom Hiddleston.

Did you see the Tennant Hamlet? I just couldn’t get past the fact that he looked so damn old for it. Ken Branagh just about pulled it off. I’ve seen great actors fail at Hamlet (*side eye Jude Law and Toby Stephens*). Being a great actor doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be a great Hamlet.

Well, interestingly, it seems the Batch would feel the age thing is appropriate, as the Guardian is quoting the Telegraph is quoting Cumberbatch (whew) as saying (ahem):

“Rocketing to a new level of stardom by leading the BBC’s contemporary spin on the Sherlock Holmes stories, Cumberbatch has long hinted that he wanted a shot at Hamlet. Last year, he told the Telegraph: “I hope to return to theatre soon, hopefully as Hamlet, as it’s a role I’ve been interested in for a long time.” He contined: “I don’t know if there is such a thing as a right age to play the part, but 36 or 37 seems appropriate to me, so I need to do it before long.”

Yeah, I saw Tennant’s Hamlet. Hamlet is a character I find it hard to empathise with, and having an actor who can’t quite leave his confidence and gravitas at the door just heightens the idea of Hamlet as a whiny, entitled, man-child. You need an actor who can portray all the grief and anger of the character and use that to make his actions understandable and logical, within the context of the play. As an aside, something that really grinds my gears and is possibly part of the problem with staging Hamlet – it’s never just Hamlet, it’s David Tennant’s Hamlet, Michael Sheen’s Hamlet and now, Cumby’s Hamlet – the part is a sop to actorly ego, and they can’t forget the fact that this is *their* iteration of a famous character, played by all the greats, so you get a performance that isn’t quite true to the character, but an excuse for a talented actor to deliver those soliloquies with a relish that doesn’t serve the play. Just play Hamlet, stop making it about you. I know actors are celebrated for making a part their own but the way these actors play Hamlet, it’s not about serving a piece of art, it’s about ego or trying to provide a definitive of the character.

Yes to all of this. That’s exactly how I feel. And some actors have a very grounded, strong energy and a charisma, which is just who they are and is death to Hamlet. It isn’t a universal role that everyone can interpret differently. I mean you can try, but fail. Some of my favorite actors ever have made terrible Hamlets. He is not for all markets.

But I have hopes for Cumby’s Hamlet, because most of his work is subtle rather than “actor-y”. Sherlock is a bad example of this, the character is supposed to be over the top. But think of Khan, or his character in Tinker Tailor. Either of those would’ve still worked if they’d been played a bit more “extra”, but Cumby chose to go subtle.

I can’t think of a role where Cumby has gone too actor-y. The creepy dude in Atonement is probably closest, but it still falls just on the right side of “too much”.

It’s not a guarantee that he’ll be able to subsume his ego in service of the play, but it makes me optimistic.

(That said, I do think 37 is too old. The Hamlet in my head is mid-late twenties, and “young” for his age. Cumby puts out mature vibes.)

Hamlet is so firmly in my head as mid 20s to maybe 30 at the outset thanks to all my professors in college hammering that in, I can’t take BC seriously as Hamlet. I say this now, when there’s no performance to judge, so I may likely eat my words next year when he does it. I just also feel that Hamlet is like “the thing to do”. I’d love to see these actors tackle Marlowe or even lesser “done” Shakespeare. But I get it–Hamlet is all about Hamlet. It’s not Hamlet and Polonius, or Hamlet and Ophelia.

I also see Hamlet as younger. He doesn’t have to be very young, but 38 (the age BC will be by Fall of next year) is way off the mark in my estimation. Ralph Fiennes was 33 when he did Hamlet (and, I think, won a Tony). But he was also quite youthful-looking through his 30′s, so that was a small advantage. I just don’t see a Hamlet of nearly 40 working out his daddy issues. I see that as something a younger man experiences. However, this doesn’t mean it CAN’T happen. If anyone can bring a new and fresh perspective to a classic role, it’s Benedict.

Yep, yep, Fanty and Missmary – being a talented actor does not mean you will shine in every role, it’s not a reflection on an actor’s versatility or an excuse for typecasting, it’s just a thing that is (I feel as if there must be a great french or german word for that clumsy phrase but I don’t know it) There does seem to a be a need to play Hamlet – like you can’t be considered one of the greats if you don’t give your Hamlet. I don’t think Cumby will do a bad Hamlet, per se. I just think he could do a truly great Macbeth or Leontes, if he must play a Shakesperian protagonist.

Seriously Kaiser has already addressed this so called “issue” from complaining posters. Don’t click on Cumby post. There are alot of post on here and celebs who I don’t care for. I don’t go on their post to whine about their coverage. Simple don’t click.

As to this story, this actually gives me an excuse to take a trip to London if true. I missed his last stage play. Hopefully I can get tickets….hopefully.

You know, I can remember when it seemed like there was a Real Housewives of (insert whatever), or a Kardashian, or a Lee Ann Rimes (sp?) post every single day when I visited (and I visit every single day) — all post subjects I loathe and have no personal interest in reading — but yet not one single time did I EVER click on one of those posts and complain about the posting. I can’t understand the point of doing that except to just be nasty.

I honestly think the majority of people complaining are mad that this unlikely heartthrob is all over the blogs and has a really big fan base. He is getting parts in hollywood, leading parts and they can’t stand the fact that because they think he is ugly that he shouldn’t get this much attention from anyone. If this was one of their favorite actors I bet you wouldn’t hear any whining at all. It would be an all out slut fest on here. Let those who enjoy following his career follow it. And if not a fan then don’t bother. Never understood people like that.

I read about that years ago. I think he and Alex Kingston were clearly people who shouldn’t have gotten married. From what I understood, they were together for years–but only got married because he wanted his mother to see him married–she died a short while later of cancer.

I’m not excusing him, because it was a douche thing to do–he cheated on his wife with Francesca, then I think he cheated on Francesca with that flight attendant (which was soo gross–sex in an airplane bathroom? Eww….that’s only a step up from Butler and his porta potty randoms), and I haven’t heard anything about a girlfriend since Francesca….

But I think they would’ve broken up eventually because he’s made it clear he doesn’t want kids, and she (with her husband) spent years doing Invitro–I think they eventually just adopted.

But I think he should’ve been a grown up and not married her, if he didn’t want to be a husband/father.

Alex didn’t adopt. She was pregnant, but yes she did IVF and she had tried with Ralph as well (wrong again!). But I can’t see the logic in “they shouldn’t have gotten married”. So what if they hadn’t gotten married? Would the cheating have been less worse?? They had been living together for 10 years. And it wasn’t just that he cheated, either. According to Alex’s own words, he showed up to the set where she was filming Moll Flanders and “all bright and breezy, and informed me that he was in love with Francesca.” That’s a dirtbag right there. I’m glad that man never had children.

I think he looks more handsome when his hair is shaggier and falls over his forehead. It gives his face the illusion of not being as long as it actually is, and therefore, brings some balance to his face over-all. And I think a shaggy, unkempt, dirty look would be good for Hamlet. I think there are other ways he can do longer hair that won’t make him look like Sherlock. And for Hamlet, I think he should be blonde. Or throw us all a bone and do it with his 100% natural hair color.

Benedict as Hamlet will be interesting-probably a very buttoned up, repressed Hamlet all pride and snark. It will be his first West End Shakespeare as a lead. Ben Wishaw played Hamlet straight out of RADA and had rave reviews. He was one of the youngest to have ever played him at the time. I was hoping Tom might do Hamlet but on reflection it was to close to the whole daddy issue scenario and Coriolanus offers a lot of opportunities for a gritty performance. The National might broadcast it they seem to be spreading there circle a bit wider as with the Donmar and Coriolanus. I wish they had done that with McAvoy’s Macbeth.

I didn’t notice this before; I think you’re right. I had to go and check some resent pics too, and it’s been quite frequent pose lately. Maybe it’s just due to the weightier subjects of his late films? The Concerned Cumby. Or is it The Angry Bunny Benny…